1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus in a software defined network and a method for operating the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The emergence of software defined networking technologies which were announced in 2008 have recently changed the network structure. The software defined networking technologies basically separate a complex function of a control plane from a data plane so that the complex function of the control plane may be processed in a software manner and the data plane may perform only simple functions of transmission, disregard, change, etc. of a network packet. In this case, a new network function can be developed in a software manner by the aid of the control plane without complex hardware constraints, and at the same time, a variety of attempts which are difficult to be made in the previous network structure become possible.
For example, in an environment such as a cloud network, the function of each network switch or router may be dynamically set to reduce the energy consumption, and in an enterprise-class environment, a desired access control method may be implemented in each switch or router. Thus, using this method, it is possible to reduce the number of devices used in the existing network and also reduce device management costs. In addition, it is possible to freely and experimentally develop and test a new function.
Switches within a software defined network are not required to have a simple structure, as opposed to a general network including switches connected in a simple structure for management convenience. This is because a control apparatus can obtain a flow table of the switches by the high-speed computing.
In this manner, the switch in the software defined network merely follows instructions of the control apparatus, and all functions of the software defined network may be implemented by the control apparatus. Thus, the control apparatus largely contributes to the implementation of the software defined network, and therefore there are demands for a scheme for providing high-performance, stability, and security to the control apparatus.